Hybrid vehicle
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For other types of "Hybrid Transportation", see Hybrid (disambiguation)#Transportation.
A hybrid vehicle (HV) is a vehicle that uses two or more distinct power sources to propel the vehicle such as:

An on-board rechargeable energy storage system(RESS) and a fueled power source (internal combustion engine) for vehicle propulsion
Human powered bicycle with battery assist
A human-powered or sail boat with electric power
The term most commonly refers to Hybrid-electric vehicle (HEV) which includes internal combustion engines and electric motors (generally powered by electric batteries, other rechargeable energy storage system -RESS-or overhead wires).

[edit] Single wheeled vehicles
There were large Chinese wheelbarrows depicted with sails and masts.[2] Likewise, there are the same Chinese wheelbarrows with sailing masts depicted in the Atlas of Gerardus Mercator (1512-1594 AD), as well as the 1626 AD book Kingdome of China by J. Speed.[2] The English poet John Milton (1608-1674 AD) popularized theChinese sailing carriage in Europe with a poem written in 1665.[2]

Two-wheeled and cycle-type vehicles
Mopeds and electric bicycles are a simple form of a hybrid, as power is delivered both via an internal combustion engine or electric motor and the rider's muscles.

In a parallel hybrid bicycle human and motor power are mechanically coupled at the pedal drive train or at the rear or the frontwheel, e.g. using a hub motor, a roller pressing onto a tire, or a connection to a wheel using a transmission element. Human and motor torques are added together. Almost all manufactured models are of this type. See Motorized bicycles, Mopeds and [3] for more information.
In a series hybrid bicycle (SH) the user powers a generator using the pedals. This is converted into electricity and can befed directly to the motor giving a chainless bicycle but also to charge a battery. The motor draws power from the battery and must be able to deliver the full mechanical torque required because none is available from the pedals. SH bicycles are not yet commercially available. They will become feasible if extremely high-efficiency generators and motors are available at competitive prices, especiallyfor recumbent bicycles and tandems, where problems associated with the complexity of a long chain drive can be avoided. [4].
The first known prototype and publication of a SH bicycle is by Augustus Kinzel (US Patent 3'884'317) in 1975. In 1994 Bernie Macdonalds conceived the Electrilite SH lightweight vehicle which used power electronics allowing regenerative braking and pedaling whilestationary. In 1995 Thomas Müller designed a "Fahrrad mit elektromagnetischem Antrieb" in his 1995 diploma thesis and built a functional vehicle. In 1996 Jürg Blatter and Andreas Fuchs of Berne University of Applied Sciences built a SH bicycle and in 1998 mounted the system onto a Leitra tricycle (European patent EP 1165188). In 1999 Harald Kutzke described his concept of the "active bicycle": the aim isto approach the ideal bicycle weighing nothing and having no drag by electronic compensation. Until 2005 Fuchs and colleagues built several prototype SH tricycles and quadricycles. [1]

Heavy vehicles
Hybrid power trains are used for diesel-electric or turbo-electric railway locomotives, buses, heavy goods vehicles, mobile hydraulic machinery, and ships. Some form of heat engine drives an...